Microsoft to sell off Activision cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft in bid for UK approval

A big change to Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition.

[shadowT]

Sony could buy now Ubisoft ;)

[Sonyslave3]

Lol for what cloud streaming rights, that they can't make exclusive.

All the money still going to microsoft and im sure sony will run into the same problem with the cma smh.

[darthv72]

I read that this is for 15 years... seems like a lease than a sale.

[4Sh0w]

What Activision Cloud Gaming? Isn't that like 1% of the entire gaming and for CoD nobody is streaming if for multiplayer matches anytime soon, lol.

[--Onilink--]

@darth

Its for games released in the next 15 years and those already out, but they keep the rights forever.

Games released after 15 years would be out of the deal

[Kurisu]

Beyond Good and Evil 2 exclusively for PS8.

[Flakegriffin]

That’s being optimistic. I’d say for their 10th gen anniversary. PS10, the earliest.

[IRetrouk]

I dont think they can, the licence would have to be sold first or ms would have to agree to let the agreement continue under sony, which they certainly wouldn't lol.

[Wikkid666]

Sony can't afford Ubi

[IRetrouk]

Yes they can, they are valued at the same price sony bought bungie for, but why would they want to?, ubi is extremely bloated and sony would need to cut way too many positions for it to make sense, would be much easier to work out some deals or licence ips instead.

[Aloymetal]

Sony can but they don't need to, With a $100+ billion in the bank Sony's gaming division is wiping the floor with MS gaming division which has trillions $ ;)

[neutralgamer1992]

Wikki

Sony can afford to buy any publisher. This myth about them not having money just isn’t true. They can buy sega, capcom and square and still have money left over just in their acquisition funds. Yes they have created a separate fund just bc is acquisitions and money is constantly being added to it

Think about it Microsoft can thrive without Xbox so it’s not a necessity where as Sony need’s PlayStation so they have more reasons to invest heavily to make sure there is a steady growth and a stable future

Now to the point Sony will never buy ubi because ubi isn’t worth much and are too bloated. Their budget is so out of whack. And tencent recently invest into UBI so they will most likely get first dibs

As far as I am concerned they should definitely try to acquire capcom and square. That would be huge boost and come at a fraction of the cost MS paid for activision. Japanese companies don’t like to sell to the west and just look at how their whole Nissan situation went.

[Wikkid666]

@Aloymetal
Gets the dumbest comment of the day award.

[Sonic1881]

All Microsoft would have to do is buy Ubisoft now. 🤔

[IRetrouk]

No because that would then become a verticle merger, which can be blocked if deemed anticompetitive, which is what the cma already has issues with, the whole point is to get the deal passed while also addressing the cma's concerns, not cause more oversight and investigations.

[S2Killinit]

That would be hilarious. But Sony doesnt need to buy anyone, their gaming studios are way ahead of the competition as is. Better spend the money more strategically.

[Hofstaderman]

I wonder how the finer print looks like for the transaction. Perhaps some exclusives to Microsoft's streaming services? In any case they just wanted Call of Duty, which by the reaction to MW 3 might not be worth the price they paid.

[PunksOnN4G]

Nope states all games have to be all platforms can u not read LOL

[phoenixwing]

the sheep people who buy call of duty will keep buying it until the prices are literally gouging them and create super unfair playing fields. I give it another five years at least before it's to the point that the common cod player cares (and that's only if microsoft is literally that short sighted and greedy)

[franwex]

I think they wanted the mobile stuff over COD. We tend to focus on COD more on this website as it’s more hardcore gaming focused

[porkChop]

Yup. Mobile accounts for the lion's share of ABK's revenue.

[PunksOnN4G]

Also looking at this deal they arent really selling it off they just giving ubisoft a 15 year dell for everything clousd however.... I dont think the UK gonna allow this unless they sell off the cloud rights that was the deal not u making a deal for 15 years hence why they opened a new phase 1 deal. The CMA will 100% see through this and force xbox hand yet again.

[IRetrouk]

They don't tend to like remedial remedies, but it may be enough to swing the cma in ms favour, we won't really know till October.

[PunksOnN4G]

Not gonna swing anything when the CMA clearly stated they MUST SELL OFF. Not do a 15 year deal with Ubisoft that is not selling off anything lol. Hence why they did not accept and opened another phase 1.. So it snot swinging other then making the case longer cuz they trying to find a loophole

[IRetrouk]

The cma dont like remedial actions and didn't accept ms first attempt at them, or ms attempt at saying the original block no longer counts because of them, but they are not 100% against them either if they cover their concerns, if this doesn't work then ms probably will be forced to sell the rights wholesale(divestiture) to get the deal passed, however, not one of us know what the cma will or won't do, untill the 18th of October when they tell us.

[--Onilink--]

Its not a 15 year deal. Anything already released and everything that comes out during the next 15 years they have the rights forever.
Anything released after 15 years is what is out of the deal.
At some point even the CMA has to compromise, its unrealistic for them to expect MS alone should never be able to have any kind of game exclusivity in the cloud market. This seems like a decent compromise

[rlow1]

So whatever the solution, as far as I understand it, this would only apply to the UK. Very interesting solution, though kind of convoluted.

[IRetrouk]

Nope, everywhere but Europe. Streaming only though, gamepass releases etc won't be effected.

[shadowT]

"The arrangement will give Ubisoft exclusive worldwide rights to stream the Activision Blizzard games, except for non-exclusive rights to stream in the European Economic Area, for all existing and current Activision Blizzard games as well as those to be released over the next 15 years once Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard is completed."

[rlow1]

I get what you’re saying but to force the company outside of their jurisdiction seems like an over reach. But I understand the mechanisms of how they can force them on a worldwide scale. What I find interesting, what is CMAs overall agenda? I know the UK dreams of becoming the next Silicon Valley of sorts. They are thinking way beyond this deal and trying to set a precedent. That of course, is some of my perspective thoughts on the subject.

[CrashMania]

It's to try and appease the CMA regulator, this concession does not apply to only the UK, the deal has always needed CMA approval.

So much for those who thought MS would just ignore the CMA and rush the deal closed, or pull the entire MS business out of the UK though, that was always crazy talk.

[badz149]

for them, MS can afford to do anything they want!

[CrashMania]

@badz

In theory perhaps.

But I doubt the shareholders and such would be happy about losing many billions in revenue by pulling out of the UK for the sake of adding more games to gamepass.

[Neonridr]

actually MS could easily have just opted not to operate in the territory the CMA regulates. The deal only needed approval for that specific area of the market. CMA doesn't control global, only local.

Naturally though, that would never happen as MS would want to operate everywhere.

[IRetrouk]

The cma has blocked global deals before, even forced Facebook to sell giphy, they have more sway than people think, and can indeed block or force concessions at a global level, ms not operating in the uk was never an option and not something ms could "easily" do, it would cost them multiple billions a year, not to mention market share to competitors.

[PassNextquestion]

So I'm guessing Microsoft is buying Ubisoft next?

[ocelot07]

How would that be possible? They are doing this to make the CMA happy. Would make no sense to then try and buy it back along with ubisoft lol. Don't think the cma would be happy to approve that lol.

[IRetrouk]

They wouldn't approve, it would then become a verticle merger and it can be blocked for the exact same reasons they are blocking now... people aint thinking.

[raWfodog]

They're making MS jump through hoops like a trained tiger for this deal. Everyone else just rolled over for a belly rub.

[mudakoshaka]

Some of the first countries to approve the deal were Brazil and Saudi Arabia. Both these countries are known for their law-abiding politicians and non-existing corruption. In case someone didn’t get the joke, these two countries are probably the most corrupt countries in the world and approved the deal without hardly looking at the details. I believe money or contracts for supplying MS products were used to give then an incentive to quickly approve the acquisition.

[hiawa23]

Or at some point, MS plans to acquire Ubi-Soft...

[ocelot07]

But that really doesn't make sense. They are doing this to please the cma. Because cma think Microsoft would have to much of a advantage in the streaming area of things.

So they got to sell it or cma won't approve. So how can they sell it to ubisoft then go and buy ubisoft? As cma would just block that deal.

[hiawa23]

Makes sense to me and many. They sell to Ubi now and after the deal is approved and finalized at some point down the line they acquire Ubi.

[IRetrouk]

Verticle merger, look it up.

[Binarycode]

Starfield floppers

[UltimateOwnage]

This is continuing to look desperate and pathetic. Another timed deal.

[DiRtY]

So, instead of getting COD Cloud Gaming on GamePass, the consumer has to pay another $15 for UbiSoft+ or whatever it is called. All thanks to the CMA and Sony pushing for it.

For the consumers. For the players.

[purple101]

Fantastic I can sub to ubi+ for a month play the campaign and then un-subscribe

[DiRtY]

And you would be able to do that on GamePass as well and would get the whole game + cloud gaming. Now you only get the cloud part.

[GrmpyolGamer]

It's still going to be available on xcloud but the Activision content will be available on UBISOFT+ as well. CMA no longer has any recourse to block. Be interesting to see if they still try. It will confirm that it was never about cloud in the first place (as I suspect)

[blackbeld]

This is the end for COD we will facing a new beginning of fps gaming. I loved the original MW 1 aka call of duty 4. But after that it went downhill not even playable. Spawning instant death, bigger maps, perks that makes the gun worser, bigger data consumption (+- 300GB) and those lags terrible.